Poultry defeathering method



Sept. 26, 1950 c. F. HUNT POULTRY DEFEATHERING METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 6, 1948 I'll ll INVENTOR. YCHKMLES r". HUNT BY v M v ,[wiw

ATTOR NE Y5.

Sept. 26, 1950 c. F. HUNT 2,523,302

' POULTRY DEFEATHERING wszmon Filed May 6, 194a 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTOR. 9 29. l? mamas F. HUNT 1 B) m I 27 GTTOIZAIEYS.

Patented Sept. 25, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POULTRY DEFEATHERINGMETHOD Charles F. Hunt, Akron, Ohio Application May 6, 1948, Serial No.25,358

19 Claims. 1

The present invention relates generally as inindicated to a poultrydefeathering machine and method and has for one of its primary objectsthe provision of a machine and a method by which thorough defeatheringcan be accomplished in a very economical and efficacious manner.

Another object is to provide a defeathering machine and method forautomatically removing all wing, body, and pin feathers including eventhe finest of down and hair in a single operation without entailingsupplemental plucking operations, such thorough plucking additionallybeing accomplished without injury to the poultry.

A further object is to provide a defeathering machine and method whichcleanses the poultry as an incident to the defeathering thereof.

Still another object is the provision of a defeathering machine andmethod which enables complete and automatic defeathering of poultry evenin regions thereof which have been heretofore relatively inaccessiblewith known apparatuses and methods.

Still another object is the provision of a novel means and method forseparating feathers from the means which plucks the same from thepoultry.

Briefly outlined, the present invention (insofar as the machine isconcerned) includes means for propelling rubber or rubber-like pelletsagainst a fowl in sufficient numbers that during the defeatheringoperation every portion of the fowl is impinged by said pellets, suchimpingement effecting a knocking and drawing out of the feathers andhair from the fowl.

In order to preserve the bloom of the skin of the fowl to therebyenhance the salability thereof and to exclude germs and precludebruising or other injury to the fowl whereby the same may be safelyplaced in cold storage without discoloring, said pellets are so formedor are of such material as to be deformable, soft rubber or rubber-likematerial being preferred.

Said machine further includes a perforated wall through which thefeathers are adapted to be knocked exteriorly of the machine by thepellets, said pellets being retained in the machine and re-circulated bysaid propelling means. As a further feature of the machine, means areprovided for spraying the pellets with water or the like to therebylubricate and wash the same, said wet pellets and water particles whenpropelled against the fowl being further operative to thoroughly cleansethe skin of the fowl. Thus, the fowl upon being removed from the machinewill be in a thoroughly defeathered and clean condition ready for theusual subsequent operations involving the cleaning of the interior ofthe fowl, etc. preparatory to sale or cold storage thereof.

It necessarily follows from the foregoing general description of themachine that the present method involves broadly the removal of feathersand cleaning by the bombardment of the fowl with resilient pellets andmore particularly the bombardment of the fowl with wet pellets and waterparticles for further increasing the skin cleansing efliciency. Fromanother aspect, the present invention also contemplates the novel methodof separating feathers from the pellets which involves the knocking ofthe feathers by said pellets through a screen of mesh small enough toretain the pellets within the machine.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the followingdescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims, the following description andthe annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but afew of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may beemployed.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of one embodiment of the presentinvention, a portion of the front wall being cut away to more clearlyillustrate the internal construction;

Fig. 2 is a cross section view taken substantially along the line 2-2,Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section view taken substantially along the line 3-3,Fig. 2;

Figs. 4-9 are perspective views of various forms of pellets which may beemployed;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of a preferred form ofimpeller rotatably mounted in the lower portion of the apparatus; and

Figs. 11 and 12 are respectively side and front elevation views of aconveyor for carrying a fowl attached thereto through the apparatus andfor I rotating the fowl while in the apparatus.

be retained within said cabinet. However, said bars 2 are spaced apart asuflicient distance so that feathers which are removed from a birddisposed in said cabinet will be knocked by said pellets to the exteriorof the cabinet and collected, if desired, in any suitable container (notshown).

Journalled in said cabinet is an impeller i comprising a shaft llprojected through said cabinet and having keyed or otherwise secured atone end thereof a pulley l2 adapted to be driven in the directionindicated by the arrow l4 by any convenient power means (not shown).Included in said cabinet I is a partition I 5 which defines with therear wall [3 a passage l6 leading upward from the impeller l0 and curvedforwardly so as to face toward the screened front wall 2. The lowerportion of said partition l5 partially encircles impeller Ill and formswith the downwardly and rearwardly sloping wall portion I! of saidcabinet a trough l8 into which, as will presently appear, pellets areadapted to be collected for circulation through the passage l6 and thustoward wall 2 by impeller Ill.

Projecting radially from shaft II are a series of pairs of axiallyspaced and diametrically opposed vanes I9 lying in planes passingthrough the axis of said shaft, alternate pairs of said vanes beingdisposed 90 apart. as best illustrated in Fig. 10, so as to balance theimpeller and to uniformly distribute loads thereon.

Through the lower portion of that side of trough l8 which is defined bypartition l5 are a series of openings through which pellets are adaptedto gravitate for being impelled by impeller l0 through passage l6. Infront of openings 20 and longitudinally shiftable in said trough i8 is agate 2i having spaced tooth-like portions 22 thereon adapted toselectively cover and uncover such openings. Thus, with trough I! filledwith pellets it is possible to start the impeller I!) undersubstantially no load and thence after said impeller has reached adesired running speed, gate'2i may be shifted to a position permittingpellets to drop through openings 20 for propulsion by said impeller. Itis usually desirable to locate the openings 20 so as not to be inregister with the vanes l9 in which case the pellets will first enterbetween successive vanes and then shift or deflect axially into the.path of the vanes. At the lower edge of passage 5 there are provided aseries of spreader blocks 23 which are operative, as evident from thedrawing, to minimize chewing up and damaging of any pellets which may bedisposed at the tips of the vanes l9.

When the pellets are made of soft rubber or rubber-like material,lubrication thereof is desirable in order to preclude sticking thereofin said trough i8 and for this purpose a water spray pipe 24 controlledas by a valve 43 is mounted longitudinally of said cabinet I abovetrough l8 but preferably below the terminus of passage l6, said pipeincluding a plurality of openings therethrough through which water orlike liquid is adapted to be sprayed onto the pellets therebelow, suchwater spray in addition to lubricating the pellets, functioning to cleanthe pellets by flushing foreign matter therefrom. Such wetted pelletstogether with water particles issuing from the upper end of passage ISin impinging upon a fowl interposed between screened wall 2 and theopposed end of passage l6 will operate not only to remove feathers fromthe fowl but to thoroughly cleanse or wash the exposed Skin thereof. Itis apparent that the volume of water may be substantially increased tofurther accentuate such cleansing or washing action, in which case itcan be said that the pellets are entrained in a fluid stream and carriedtherebyfor impingement or collision with the fowl disposed in the pathof the pellets. It is further evident that in lieu of impeller l0, fluidunder pressure including either liquids or gases may be employed forpropelling the pellets toward the fowl to be defeathered.

Referring now to other features of this invention, there is providedalong the upper portion of said cabinet I a conveyor rail 25 of anydesired construction, carrying a plurality of spaced holders to therotatable parts 26 of which the legs of the fowl may be tied, saidholders being adapted to be moved along said conveyor rail throughcabinet I as by cables 44 interconnecting successive holders to thussubject the fowl suspended therefrom to impingement by the pelletsissuing from passage I6. Said holder parts 26, as best shown in Figs. 11and 12, include a pair of arms 21 arranged to spread apart the legs ofthe fowl a convenient distance, for example about eight inches, so as toprovide access of the pellets to regions of the fowl between the legs.

Each holder includes a body 45 with freely rotatable grooved rollers '46thereon engaging the upper and lower edges of rail 25 whereby saidholder comprising body 45 and holder part 26 rotatably supported by saidbody may be drawn through the machine as by the cables 44 whichinterconnect successive holders. Said conveyor rail 25 and holder parts26 are further provided with interengaging parts 28 and 29, herein arack and gear respectively, whereby the holders, and thus the fowlsuspended therefrom, will be rotated about a vertical axis during thepassage of the holders with the fowl thereon through said cabinet l.

Furthermore, said rail 25 is preferablyinclined as illustrated wherebyevery portion of the fowl during its transportation through said cabinetI will be impinged by the pellets even though the vertical height of thefowl is greater than the vertical width of passage iii. In order thateach holder part 26 will hang in a vertical position during movementalong the inclined section of rail 25, a universal joint 41 isassociated therewith.

For supporting the fowl in a substantially vertical position during itspassage through said cabinet I against the impact of the pelletsthereagainst, parallel guide rails 30 are mounted in said cabinet at thelevel of the fowl so as to be engaged thereby.

To facilitate defeathering of the fowl around the vent thereof, underthe wings, and other difficultly accessible regions, cabinet i isprovided with a shelf 3| therein on which the bird is supported on itsback or stomach and rotated to thus bring such regions in a direct linewith passage l6 and the pellets issuing therefrom. To permit suchsupporting of the fowl on said shelf, guide rails 30 are curvedforwardly and downwardly of cabinet I, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1and 2.

As a further feature of this invention, a swinging door 32 is providedat each end of cabinet I and inwardly adjacent each door 32 is a rubberor fabric wall 33 including a vertical slit 34 therethrough throughwhich doors and slits the fowl is adapted to be drawn, such walls anddoors being operative to preclude loss of pellets glancs ing oil thefowl or struck by other pellets so as to move in a direction toward suchslits and doors. Any pellets which pass between the slits 34 will strikeagainst said doors 32, drop downward, and be directed by the slopingwalls 30 of cabinet I into trough ll.

With reference to the pellets. the same may be of a variety of differentforms as exemplarily illustrated in Figs. 4-9. As previously indicated,said pellets are preferably made of rubber or rubber-like material thehardness of which can be varied over a wide range correlatively with thevelocity thereof. For example, satisfactory results have been obtainedwith pellets of a hardness of 35 durometer propelled by an impeller lhaving a vane tip velocity of about 4,000 feet per minute, the velocityof the pellets at the time of impingement thereof with the fowltherefore being somewhat less due to engagement of the pellets with oneanother and with the walls of passage l8, and deceleration of thepellets caused by ascension thereof through passage l6. Obviously,softer pellets of 20-25 durometenfor example, may be propelled at acorrespondingly greater velocity without injuring the fowl, and,conversely, pellets harder than 35 durometer should be propelled at acorrespondingly reduced velocity.

The pellet 4 illustrated in Fig. 4 is cubical in form preferablyprovided with rounded edges and corners 35. A pellet so shaped providescorne s which are ideally adapted to enter indentations inthe fowl forthus effectively knocking and drawing out feathers and hair which may bedisposed in such indentations. Pellets 4 of the order of to 2 in sizehave produced excellent results.

The pellet 5 illustrated in Fig. 5 is provided with a plurality of lugs31 providing a number of external corners and edges adapted to enterindentations in the fowl as indicated above.

The pellet 6 illustrated in Fig. 6 is of a polygonal cross section atits intermediate section 38 and is formed with frusto-pyramidal endportiosn 39 of corresponding cross section.

The pellet I illustrated in Fig. '7 comprises a sphere formed withserrations 40 thereabout, such serrations being operative to improve thefeather removing efficiency as compared with an unserrated sphere.

The pellet 8 illustrated in Fig. 8 is of a tubular form pr vided withaxially extending lugs 4| projecting radially therefrom. In this casethe tubular form of the pellet renders the same more readily deformableand therefore may be made of a somewhat harder material but yetpropelled at a velocity corresponding with a, softer but solid pellet.

The pellet 9 illustrated in Fig. 9 comprises a sphere provided with aplurality of lugs 42 projecting radially therefrom, such lugs, ofcourse, being adapted to enter in various indentations in the fowl.

Any of the pellets 4-9 illustrated may obviously be of a hollow form toprovide an air cushion therein or of a tubular or other readilydeformable or resilient form.

The operation of the machine will now be described. First, of course,pellets are loaded into trough II, it having been found that some 1,300pellets per foot of length of impeller I0 is adequate.

The number of pellets used is not, of course, critical except from thestandpoint of productive capacity of the machine, it being understand- 6able that even a single pellet is suflicient if propelledat the fowlhundreds or thousands of times. With 1,300 pellets per foot propelled atthe rate indicated, virtually a storm is created enabling cleaning anddefeathering of some 500 fowl per hour for a machine of six-foot widthwith one attendant taking care of one or more machines.

At this stage, with pellets in trough II, gate 2| is in a positioncovering openings 20 leading into the impeller casing whereupon saidimpeller may be started under no load. After having started saidimpeller, gate 2| may be shifted to uncover openings 20 and the water inpipe 24 turned on by manipulation of valve 43. Within a few seconds, acontinuous stream of pellets issues from passage l6 and in striking wall2 and bouncing therefrom collide with one another thereby creating adense storm of pellets rapidly moving within cabinet I. With the machineso operating, poultry previously subjected to a one minute slack scaldin water at 123-l28 F. may be transported through said cabinet whilesimultaneously rotated to thereby subject the poultry to impingement bysaid pellets, such impingement effecting a complete defeathering andcleansing of the poultry as previously indicated. As the feathers drop,the pellets missing or glancing from the poultry strike such feathersand knock them through the spaces between bars 3 to the exterior of saidcabinet. The spent pellets then drop into trough l8 wherein they arewetted,

washed, and lubricated prior to being again circulated by, impeller 10.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed,change being made as regards the details described, provided thefeatures stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent ofsuch, be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A method of defeathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultry toimpingement by moving resilient pellets.

2. A method of' defeathering poultry comprising immersing the poultry inwater at a predetermined temperature, and thereafter subjecting thepoultry to impingement by moving resilient pellets.

3. A method of defeathering poultry comprising providing a storm ofmoving resilient pellets and holding the poultr in a position to beimpinged by the pellets.

4. A method of defeathering poultry comprising providing a storm ofmoving resilient pellets, immersing the poultry in water at apredetermined temperature, and holding the poultry in a position to beimpinged by the pellets.

5. A method of defeathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultry toimpingement by moving rubber-like pellets.

6. A method of defeathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultry toimpingement by freely moving soft rubber-like pellets.

7. A method of defeathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultry toimpingement by wet moving resilient pellets.

8. A method of defeathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultry toimpingement by wet moving resilient pellets and by water.

9. A method of defeathering poultry comprising placing the poultry inthe path of freely moving resilient pellets so that some of the pelletsimpinge the poultry to withdraw the feathers and some of the pelletsstrike the removed 7 feathers to carry the latter away from the poultry.

10. A method of deteathering poultry comprising suspending the poultryby the legs, and rotating the poultry while thus suspended about agenerally vertical axis in the path of moving resilient pellets.

11. A method of deieathering poultrv comprising immersing the poultry inwater at a predetermined temperature, suspending the poultry by thelegs, and rotating the poultry while thus suspended about a generallyvertical axis in the path or moving resilient pellets.

12. A method of defeathering poultry comprising providing a plurality ofresilient pellets moving in one general direction, supporting thepoultry in the path of the pellets with a line between the vent and neckdisposed generally parallel to the path of movement of the pellets.

13. A method or defeathering poultry comprising providing a plurality ofresilient pellets moving in one general direction, supporting thepoultry in the path of the pellets with a line between the vent and neckdisposed generally per-' pendicular to the path or movement of thepellets.

14. A method of defeath'ering poultry comprising providing a pluralityof resilient pellets moving in one general direction, and successivelysupporting the poultry in the path of the pellets with a line betweenthe vent and neck disposed generally parallel to and perpendicular tothe path of movement of the pellets.

15. A method of defeathering poultry comprising providing a plurality ofresilient pellets moving in one general direction, successivelysupporting the poultry in the path 01. the pellets with a line betweenthe vent and neck disposed generally parallel to and perpendicular tothe path 01' movement of the pellets, and rotating the poultry whilethus supported.

16. A method of defeathering poultry comprising providing a stream offreely moving resilient pellets, and supporting the poultry in suchstream for impingement by the pellets whereby the feathers are withdrawnfrom the poultry.

1'7. A method 0! defathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultryto impingement by moving resilient pellets of spherical form andprovided with a plurality of nubs projecting therefrom adapted to enterthe indentations in the p 18. A method of defeathering poultrycomprising subjecting the poultry to impingement by moving resilientpellets which include external corners adapted to enter the indentationsin the p ltry.

19. A method of defeathering poultry comprising subjecting the poultryto impingement by moving resilient pellets of size and shape adapted toenter the indentations in the poultry.

, CHARLES F. HUNT.

REFERENCES crran The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,430,557 Jervis Oct. 3, 19221,588,768 Moulton 1. June 15, 1926 1,907,411 Timoney May 2, 19331,934,494 Gillespie Nov. 7, 1933 2,081,994 Grace June 1, 1937 2,337,201Johnson Dec. 21, 1943 2,412,338 Jasper Dec. 10, 1946 2.413.711 Jerome,Jan. 7, 1947

